UFC 3 fighter Emanuel Yarbrough died on Monday, December 21. He was 51.
“The UFC sends its sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Emanuel Yarbrough,” officials from the organization said in a statement to Fox Sports on Tuesday. He passed away in Richmond, Virginia, though the cause has not been revealed.
His
manager also released a statement to UFC.com. “Emanuel’s passion was to
travel,” the statement read. “Even though it was not an easy task for
him, it never stopped him from following his dreams, and bringing smiles
to the faces of all he would meet. He was to be the subject of a new
reality show, and would have continued to bring smiles to all those who
had the opportunity to be blessed by his infectious, compassionate,
loving presence. He will be missed by his millions of fans around the
world, friends and family. Emanuel constantly demonstrated the need to
help the obese, particularly children. And he traveled the world to
bring awareness to obesity.”
Yarbrough
was named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest
living athlete at 6-foot-8, and over 800 pounds. Prior to joining the
UFC, he dabbled in other sports and played football and ventured into
sumo wrestling.
Yarbrough joined UFC
in its early days, losing in the third ever Ultimate Fighting
Championship match. During the fight, Yarbrough weighed over 600 pounds
at the time when he was defeated by his opponent, Keith Hackney.
Yarbrough’s mom has set up a GoFundMe page asking fans to help the family pay for funeral costs.
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